


Pipes

by BlueMoonHound



Series: Pipesstuck [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Illustrated, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, background nepfef, background rosemary - Freeform, pipesstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-30 22:25:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10886160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueMoonHound/pseuds/BlueMoonHound
Summary: “Do you not think we have had enough of highbloods for now?”“He saved your life,” you point out.





	1. Those who destroy

**Author's Note:**

> Canon divergence right from the mcfuckin get-go. This is sorta a what-if scenario.  
> ok the fefeta content is a LITTLE less than background, but its not foreground.

First you make sure Eq is okay. He shivers under your touch and curls into your side and sobs, more vulnerable than you have ever seen him before. His neck is still oozing little droplets of bright ultramarine blood, and he flinches when you touch it, the corners of his mouth twitching.

He's cracked a few more teeth from clenching his jaw. Purple blood is still splattered all over his face and arms. You wipe it away, gently, with the sleeve of your coat.

“Equius, I need your medical supplies,” you say after a few minutes, watching blood dry on his neck.

“A-alright,” he rasps, and you help him stand, letting him lean on your side. He's so small, you realize. Highblood small, of course, but it shocks you every time, because he can lift you and throw you around if he very well pleases and yet he comes up to your shoulder.

His broken horn nudges the edge of your hat and he clutches your waist like a lifeline, his other hand shaking, fingering the hem of his shirt, nervously ghosting over the new to-be scar on his neck. Tears still leak from his eyes.

The trip drags on.

You are _not_ close to his room.

By the time you reach sanctuary, Equius is sagging against you, the tension completely gone. You sit him down in a soft chair and go into the ablution block and fuss through the cupboards till you find the first aid box. You lug the whole thing back out with you, setting it down on the floor.

He's already half asleep, but he wakes up when you start washing the cuts out with antiseptic. You keep working, shooshing him occasionally with one hand against his cheek. He shivers under your touch. You tape a bandage on, trying to ignore the way it looks like a white choker, and climb into the chair, pulling him into your lap.

You brush his hair, picking out little bits of dried blood as you go.

He falls asleep in your arms.

 

You visit feferi in your dreams.

She's dead. She's sitting in Sollux's hive, playing a videogame of some kind, with her feet propped up on a pile of red dragon plushies. She seems completely unconcerned.

“Hi,” you say, turning around to look back at the wall. You're still not used to dream bubbles.

“Hey Nepeta!!” she says, looking away from her game, pausing it with a flick of her thumb. “How are you?”

“Oh I'm doing alright.”

You plop down on the couch next to her.

“So are you dead?”

“No, I fell asleep in Equius's chair.”

“That's good. There are a lot of dead Nepetas.”

You lean against her.

She starts up her game again.

“Nepeta wonders what her own Feffurry is up to.”

“I wouldn't know,” she says, soft like the wind, and you breathe in the sweet ocean smell of her hair.

 

Equius is working on a robot when you wake up.

Every few minutes, he reaches up a finger and picks at the edge of the bandage. A couple of times he makes a movement like he's trying to mask this, tucking nonexistent stray hairs behind his ear, adjusting his glasses. You lie still for a while, watching him. He seems okay.

You wonder if you would have died.

He certainly would have, if nobody had intervened.

You tug on your tail, remind yourself that no, it's fine, you're fine, Eq is fine, everything is going to be alright.

(it's not alright it's not, people are dead, you don't know what to do or whether anything is okay.)

You twitch your tail a little too forcefully and probably bruise your foot against the metal structure.

“Hey.”  
You turn your head around so fast you probably cricked your neck and you hear Equius jump about fifteen feet in the air, something clattering to the floor.

Terezi is standing in the doorway. Her hands are covered in brown and purple blood.

“I'm holding an investigation. Do you guys have any idea what happened?”

“What happened to tavros?” you squeak.

“Mindfang. What happened to Gamzee. There's blue blood on the scene of the crime, I know you were involved.”

“Is this even proper court order?” You point out.

“You're not roleplaying either.”

“Long day.” You glance at Equius. He bows his head, resigned.

You take that as the go-ahead. “Equius went to confront Gamzee. Gamzee tried to kill him with a bow. Ampurra walked in and shot him in the head, then freaked out and ran away. I don't know anything after that. I just took Eq back here.”

“That's not my name,” Equius mumbles. You ignore him.

“Gamzee tried to kill -”

“Yes.” Equius stands up in a way that's much less casual and more threatening. “Please do not ask. Where are your glasses, Pyrope?”

You rush over to him, ready to pap if needed, but he seems okay so you just hold his arm with your entire body and watch.

Terezi touches the side of her face. “I guess I forgot them downstairs. See ya losers later.” She salutes, turns, and leaves.

You're already petting Equius's ear. He sighs.

“I'm alright, Nepeta.”

You take a step back.

He sits back down at his desk.

“Eq?”

“Yes?”

“I'm gonna go find him.”

“Whom?”

“Ampurra.”

He doesn't even make a pretense of hiding it, this time, when his hand goes to the bandage on his neck.

“Do you not think we have had enough of highbloods for now?”

“He saved your life,” you point out. “I just want to ask him some things.”

Things like _why did you save us? What happened?_ Maybe not those questions. Maybe not in that order. You're just so _confused_. Yeah, he's a ruthless flirt, but Eridan never seemed to like you. He certainly never liked Equius.

Equius sighs.

“Be careful?”

“Of course. Pale for you,” you say, pulling him into a hug.

For a moment he tenses, then he relaxes into your grip.

“Pale for you too.”

 


	2. Rogue Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He does deserve to die,” Eq tries to reason.  
> “I know,” you mutter. “I just don't know how to feel about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is neigh my friends!

It takes a while to find him, and when you do, he notices you immediately and runs for it.

You don't chase him. That'll just make him more scared. You know how to catch trolls like you know how to catch animals, and it's not really that hard at all, once you know where they are.

Besides, he has _no_ idea how to cover his tracks.

You find him after half an hour of tracking him, curled in a closet, shivering. He has his cape(a spare cape? you don't remember him having it before.) pulled all the way around him and he flinches violently when you open the door.

“Eridan.”

He doesn't say anything.

You climb in with him and close the door.

He pulls his legs in as tight as he can, tugging his cape away from your feet and looking anywhere but your eyes.

“I'm sorry,” he rasps, the faint light reflecting off his glasses and his teeth and making him look strange and spooky.

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“I killed Fef an' Sol an' Kan and Gam an just--”

“No,” you interject. “Why are you apologizing to _me_? Go apologize to them, next time you sleep. They don't have to furgive you but you can go say sorry anyway. ”

Eridan doesn't say anything.

“Actually I have a question.”

He looks up, his glasses still reflecting the light so they look like huge, pale eyes.

“Why did you save us?”

“I don't know-w -w I just w-walked in and I – I don't – I'm sorry –“

“Are you okay?”

You realize that he's probably not shaking from cold.

“I'm fine,” he snaps, and wow, you had been expecting him to accuse you of hitting on him but no, he just looks angry and frightened.

And tired.

“Have you been awake this whole time?”  
“Please just go away.”

He's pleading with you. _Pleading_. Eridan furricking Ampora, curled into a ball on the floor, pleading with _you_ , an oliveblood.

“Don't die, okay?” You stand up, and he looks at you over his glasses and you can finally see his eyes, which look too bright and kind of sunken. Then he looks away. He doesn't respond.

You leave the closet, confused.

 

“I am going fishing.”

Kanaya is holding her lipstick very clearly in her hand. You do a double take.

Her flushcrush, Rose (who seems to think you're a little stupid), frowns and takes a sip of that weird brown human beverage with all the caffeine in it.

“Is that sensible?”

“He killed me, Rose. I will not stand for this. What if he isn't done?”

Rose smiles, but doesn't say a thing.

Kanaya looks a little uncomfortable when she sees the expression you're wearing but then she steels herself and storms off.

Your tail twitches. You grab the milk you were alchemizing and leave the room.

 

“He does deserve to die,” Eq tries to reason. You're reapplying his bandages. The old ones had become stained with blood, though the bleeding has stopped now, for the most part. You tried to persuade him to go without but the cuts on the back of his neck are still sensitive to his hair and he doesn't want to cut it.

He's drinking the milk you got out of a plastic waterbottle, which is dented but not beyond repair. Plastic is handy. Humans have some good things up their sleeves.

“I know,” you mutter. “I just don't know how to feel about it.”

You tape the bandage and grab a brush, running it through his hair till he purrs in your lap.

“How was your visit with him, anyway?”  
You pause in your brushing, thinking. “He's a little upset.”

Equius jerks. “He did not hurt you, did he?” He turns around and tries to look at you.

“No, shh, gosh I'm fine. I meant he's scared out of his mind. He told me to go away. It was weird.” You pap his cheek.

“That is peculiar,” Equius secedes, reclining again.

 

Fefurry is glad to see you.

This time, you find her sitting on the shore, leaning against a large rock and wiggling her toes in the water. It's definitely her memory. You haven't seen this beach before.

A little way into the conversation you realize it's the same feferi who you cuddled with last time you were asleep. She seems unpurturbed by this revelation – apparently you're the only living Nepeta she's met since she died.

“So Eridan killed you?”

“I thought you said we weren't going to talk about that stuff anymore,” Feferi giggles, grabbing your right horn and pulling you closer so she can kiss your nose.

You laugh. “Heh, sorry, I'm just... still confused about all of this.” You slump a little. “I talked to him yesturrday and he didn't seem okay.”

“He didn't hurt you, right?”  
“No.”

Feferi nuzzles your chin. “Mmm. Good.”

“Are you okay with this?”  
Feferi giggles again. “It's a little too pale for flushed, but I like it.” She pauses, frowning. “And I.. I don't think I mind. That Erifin killed me I mean. I don't forgive him, but.. you're alive, thanks to him. And that's really good. That makes me happy.”

You watch the tide go out with feferi tucked under your arm.

 

“First of all, I'm not going to hurt you, Ampurra.”

His eyes gleam in the darkness. His fins are drooping more than you think you've ever seen, and he's got pretty incredible control (if your conversations with Feferi are anything to judge).

“Kanaya was lookin for me yesterday,” he rasps. “She w-wants to kill me.”

“You didn't save the life of kanaya's moirail. You killed her, in fact. So yeah. You kinda deserve that.”  
“Are you v-visiting me just because I saved your coddamn moirail?”

“I dunno.”

You move to sit next to him, and this time he doesn't jerk away. His earfins and shoulders relax a little.

“I brought food,” you mention.

His expression goes from resigned to hopeful in less than a second. You have to keep yourself from laughing. It's not much, just half a grubjelly sandwich and some milk in a plastic waterbottle, but he seems grateful anyway.

“Hav-vent eaten in like two days or somethin, thank you so fuckin much oh my god.” He eats the sandwich a lot slower than he talks though, like he knows what he's doing.

He leans against the wall of the pipe and sips the milk, staring at the ceiling.

“Okay, but why are you helping me. Really.”

Your tail twitches, slamming against the wall and making him jump. “Maybe beclaws you're my furrend? I don't have to like you to think you deserve to live.”

He stares at you for a moment like he hadn't expected that answer, and then he narrows his eyes a little and looks away. “Okay but you're all like keepin me company and bullshit. Ya coulda just left food where you know I'd find it. People do that in like. Movies n stuff.”

“I know what you're like when you're all alone in your own thoughts and I don't think you deserve that.” You shrug. “I should go. But hey. Maybe… maybe you should come hang out with me and Equius. I don't think Kanaya is gonna check our room unless you make it obvious you're in there.”

“Reely?” His earfins tremble.

“Just … don't mess it up, alright?”  
“Oh.” He twiddles with one of his rings. “Yeah. I'll try.”

He jumps a little when you pat him on the shoulder. “I'm gonna go. See you later.”

“Bye.”

 

Eq's ears are soft.

You bite his eartip and he paps your shoulder. He's getting better at controlling his strength. You purr.

“Nepeta.”

“Purrquius.”

“That was a stretch.”  
“I know.”

You're far too big to fit in his lap but you climb onto it anyway. You bump his forehead with yours. “How are you?”  
“I am fine.”

“You haven't been out lately.”

“I must admit I am… nervous. I am afraid someone might...”

In one movement you flip him over and sit down on the chair so the lap position has changed. You pull his head against your chest. “Shoosh. No ones gonna ask you questions you don't want to hear. Not if I'm there to shoot them looks, anyway.”

Something clatters behind you and you flinch. You turn around.

There's no one there, but a bright blue scarf is dangling out of the airvent.

“Or you could wear that,” you say.

 

It looks good on him. It's the right length and width, and it accents the blue in his outfit. You plop your hat on his head and he mutters something about absurdity under his breath while you giggle.

“You know I think your fur would look good in a braid. Maybe I should do that sometime.”

“Purrhaps,” he replies.

“Did you just pun at me?”

“… yes,” he mutters. You kiss the back of his ear.

“You ready?”

“Almost.” He takes off your hat and turns around, positioning it on your head and tucking your hair so it flares out around the bottom. “There. Much better.”

“Let's go.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If i continue this AU it'll be in a separate work, i've learned my lesson about deviating from the original plan. But I do have ideas running around, so it might happen!
> 
> If you have prompts for this au you can send them to bluemoonhound.tumblr.com -- I don't get a lot of asks, so don't be afraid of cluttering my inbox!

**Author's Note:**

> ....yeah this is about eridan lol.  
>  Not the slightest bit suprised i managed to take meowrails and eridan and make them into 1 fic.  
> It's a 2-shot, another chapter coming! I'm already about halfway done with chapter 2. Hopefully I'll post it in a few days.


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